The Ancient Paths - Path I

[hippocrachus]

~ The Adventurers ~

Braggi sits back in his chair and stares at Hrolf in quiet contemplation.
"In the morning, you three will report to Mayor Syrriel. I am leaving the law in her hands for now. She will judge Nae'talis and Hildor more leniently than Tyr or me. That is for your benefit, Hrolf. I sense a stubborn adventurousness in you; no different than any warrior your age." Braggi resigns himself to smile. "You three rest. I will rouse a search party for Dowkan. With any luck, he will be found before I leave in tomorrow..."
Braggi nods at each of the adventurers as he rises from his seat and leaves them.

 

[hippocrachus]

~ The Adventurers ~

Day XVI

Hildor and Nae'talis are allowed to return to their rooms at the inn under the care of Hrolf.
Because of the late hour the group went to bed, it is well into midmorning when the two humans awake.
Hildor shouldn't chance leaving the inn without Hrolf.
Per Braggi's commands, the three adventurers should report to Syrriel.

~ Dowkan ~

When the rescue team and Dowkan are well on their way to Silverdown, Captain Grogor strides up along side of the dwarven mercenary for a little one-on-one chat that the veteran didn't want to have with so many eavesdroppers about during lunch.
"Some o' the teams on the wall say they saw ye chasin' after tha Tyrran Hrolf. Tha don' make a lick o' sense to me, 'cause I heard he was safe as a babe in Silverdown before we left fer to find ye. So what were ye chasin'?"

 

[ae1vart0n]

Following Hrolf to the Inn, per instructions, Hildor immediately returns to his trance. When he gets up he walks over to the window and spends most of the morning contemplating his new freedom from Mars. His hopes had risen that that Tyrrans too might leave him be. Then he'd need to decide where to go.

In the meantime, I'll wait for the others for breakfast. It'd be boring to watch them eat.

 

[Legildur]

"Some o' the teams on the wall say they saw ye chasin' after tha Tyrran Hrolf. Tha don' make a lick o' sense to me, 'cause I heard he was safe as a babe in Silverdown before we left fer to find ye. So what were ye chasin'?"

"Humph!" grunts Dowkan. "I'm glad Hrolf be safe then. That'd certainly explain a few things. Whatever 'twere that I was a chasin', 'tweren't Hrolf. Looked like Hrolf, but moved quick and 'twas demonically strong," he adds, rubbing his throat with one hand.

"If I were a gamblin' dwarf, and I be one, then I'd guess at it bein' one of them changelings or doppleganger types. And it'd be that thing that killed the guards at the cave."

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Dowkan ~

"Aye." Grogor nods his head, obviously having come to the same conclusion before now. "Me and some o' the others were warned by tha big blue Braggi feller to keep a eye out fer anything looking suspicious. Says the elf told him abou' some Red Wizard attackin'." Grogor's eyes go wide for a brief second. "Maybe ye ain't supposed to know tha... No differnt. Whatta ya know abou' tha elf anyways?"

 

[Legildur]

"Me? Not bloody much. I can tell you that!" spits Dowkan. "Ask me again once we've fought side by side. That always brings fellas closer."

"But the lot of 'em seem to have secrets on secrets. Not that I care. I have me own reasons for hookin' up wit' 'em."

"Red Wizards ya say? Well, it's good to know. Not sure wot I could do about it in any case," he adds. "But me t'anks to ya for tellin' me."

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Dowkan ~

Grogor gives Dowkan a disbelieving look that shows him what the veteran mercenary thinks about his reasons for joining the ragtag bunch.
"Ye can put tha purtty new axe o' yours to good use, fer one. See ya don' go puttin' no fears into me boys wit' tha information. I don' know why them bloody Thayans can' keep their bloody affairs to themselves. Keep it on their side o' the world."

 

[Dhes]

After morning mass, Hrolf returns to the inn for some breakfast and to collect his two companions so they can report to Syrriel.

As the cleric enters the inn’s common room he sees that Hildor is already seated at a table, apparently waiting for him and Nae’talis. I should make some effort to befriend the thieving elf, Hrolf greats the Elf with a smile faintly touching his lips, ”Good morning, Hildor.”

 

[Majin]

Nae'talis eats his breakfast in silence, keeping a watchful eye out all around, it being apparent now that his brethren were on to him. The Tyrran's were not much better but at the moment they were at least some form of screen between him and the Reds and the young wizard meant to exploit that to his advantage to the fullest extent.

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Nae'talis ~

As Nae'talis eats his breakfast aloof, he can't help but notice a halfling wearing an ecstatic expression, beaming at the wizard whenever his eyes pass over the little squirt. Because Nae'talis is alone and flashes continuous stares at the halfling - dirty looks that wash over the happy-go-lucky fool like magic missiles to a Great Wyrm - he gets up from his seat and walks over to join Nae'talis.
"This seat taken?" He sits down anyway. "The name's Wizzop," he says, offering a small hand to the tall Thayan. "I'm in the gem appraising business. Mayor Syrriel has taken me on to help her in her shop. Beats the heck outta my last business. I used to work out of Dagger Falls; not many gems in the Dalelands, I'm afraid. I figured I'd try my luck closer to a bustling city like Silverymoon. Plenty of dwarves around these parts. That's the one thing I like most about dwarves: they always have a pocket full of gems and they're always ready to have a good conversation about the proper upkeep and cut. Not many dwarves that close to Cormanthor either. Probably due to all the elves; not that I have anything against elves, mind you. The great thing about elves is they can respect a gem of rare beauty. They can spot the diamond in the pile of magically created cubic zirconia. What about you? You have an eye for precious gems? I can't say I've met very many humans that've found the topic interesting, but humans always seem ready to learn. That's why I like humans the most..."